Step 5: Enjoy Your 'Merican Belt!

Yes, you read correctly, this is the best 'Merican belt you can ever make. The best feature of the belt is its custom made shotgun shell conchos. This is a great project to show just how 'Merican you are and use up some of your empty shells.

Overview: In this instructable you will learn how to: 1) Make shotgun shell conchos

2) Freestyle tool a leather belt

4) Finish the belt

Materials:

Ruler

Leather belt blank

Shotgun Shells

Cut-off wheel (big-boy compressed air version of dremel) OR Hacksaw (the one for metal, not wood)

Buckle Hole punch

Spray bottle

Hard tooling surface (preferably chunk of scrap granite counter-top, get it from a counter-top place for free from their dumpster)

Step 1: Preparing the Shotgun Shell Conchos

For this you have 2 options for accomplishing this task. If you have access to a pneumatic cut-off wheel, use it. If you don't, then you get to use muscle and a hacksaw.

1) Put the empty shell in a vice gripping the plastic part of the shell.

2) Use the die grinder or cut-off wheel to cut off the end of the shell. Use the lip as your line. The lip is the part at the end of the shell that is a larger diameter so that the ejector in a shotgun can pull the shell out of the chamber. Warning! Cutting shells may involve the smell of burning plastic or wood in the shell.

3) Punch out the primer. The circular thing in the middle of the back of the shell.

Very good instruction and really like your stamped design. I have to shotgun belts to make for my grandson and great grandson, I will be using your design. Also would be good on a shotgun cuff/bracelet. FYI and others, I have found that a pipe cutter is faster and makes a smother cut. Just make sure that the pipe cutter has groves in the two rollers, place the head in the groves and Aline the cutting wheel at the edge of the head. tighten the cutter to just snug. Hold the plastic part of the shotgun shell with vice grips and turn the pipe cutter slowly a couple of riounds, to start the grove. Then tighten the pipe cutter and turn, tighting it every round or so. The head should cut clean about the thickness of a coin, put head on a socket or something so the primer can fall out, as you take a nail in the primer from the backside and tap gently with a hammer.

Great belt, great idea! Well done!

<p>I'm not 'Merican but I love this idea! Great 'ible.</p>

Wow

<p>Looking sharp!</p>

<p>Wow. Really beautiful work there. Have you made hatbands like this as well?</p>